Revenants Vol II
by DeviousCuttlefish
Summary: Saren Arterius is dead, and the Reaper Sovereign has learned the hard way what it means to stoke Commander Kraven Shepard's legendary temper. The immediate threat is gone, but dark things yet hide in the deep places of the galaxy. Dark things that need a boot to the ass, and a bullet between the eyes. Retelling of Mass Effect 2.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: For those that followed from Revenants, good to have you! For those that are new to the story go back, and read Revenants first, and then it's also good to have you. For those that are new but don't want to read the previous story... Why not? Don't be a jerk! Anyway it's good to be back at it with the next installment of the series so I hop everyone enjoys this somewhat altered take on the classic Mass Effect Trilogy!**

-PROLOGUE-

*SKIES ABOVE ALCHERA*

Commander Kraven Matthew Shepard stood stoically staring off into the void through the view screen of the SSV Normandy Stealth Frigate. He crossed his arms before nonchalantly turning to head below decks for a bite to eat. Flight lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau reached up to intertwine his fingers before slowly bending them back with a satisfying series of muted cracks. He once again set his fingers to lightly dance across his ship's nav interface. As he did Navigator, and First Mate, Charles Pressly let out an irritated sigh behind him.

"Something on your mind Pressly?"

The balding man snorted in frustration. "Just wondering what the hell we're doing out here."

"Last I heard we were investigating Geth activity in the area." Joker replied somewhat sarcastically.

"I'd bet my retirement that there's not a single wind up soldier out here."

Joker shrugged. "A dozen ships went missing around here in the past few months. Something happened to em."

Pressly sneered and directed his attention to a wall mounted console. "My money's on slavers. The Terminus is crawling with em."

"Could be I guess. Still as far as victory cruises go this isn't so bad."

The Navigator ceased his calculations to pointedly eye the pilot's chair. "After what this crew did to save the Citadel from that Reaper ship, and bring down Saren I would have expected a little more fanfare."

"Can't argue with that. A couple weeks of shore leave before getting shipped out to hunt Geth isn't much a thank you is it? Maybe it's because Shepard snubbed Udina for the councilor's spot." Joker chuckled lightly at the politician's missed opportunity.

Pressly joined in. "That bastard got off easy if you ask me. I bet he'll think twice before he tries to ground the Commander again."

"Or talks back to Anderson." Joker added which elicited another laugh from the Navigator.

Their chat was cut short by a blinking alert on Joker's console. As he reached to bring the alert up on his screen his newly stationed sensor specialist called out over her shoulder.

"Ship signature off our stern. Port side. Sensors paint it's silhouette as a cruiser." She announced. "The ship is changing course. Now on intercept trajectory."

Pressly shook his head. "Can't be, the stealth system's engaged. No Geth ship could possibly…"

Cold realization gripped Joker's heart as ice water filled his stomach. Only one enemy had the potential capability to render the Normandy's stealth systems ineffective. "It's not the Geth… Brace for evasive maneuvers!"

His fingers stabbed into the controls which sent the frigate twisting away from it's original course, but too late. Brilliant golden beams lanced into the Normandy's hull to eat away at it's alloy flesh like terrifying acid. Circuits behind the console Pressly had been reading overloaded from a sudden burst of excess power to violently detonate in his face. An unintelligible shout escaped his lips before he crumpled to the deck. The young sensor specialist tried to rise from her chair to help her injured crew mate when another blast rocked the ship sending her tumbling across the deck as well.

Dozens of warning alerts flashed across Joker's screen. Each one clamoring for his attention. "Kinetic barriers are down, multiple hull breaches, weapons systems offline!" He shouted into the intercom before turning to see a blaze of orange growing behind him. "Somebody get that fire out!"

While Joker wrestled with the Normandy's controls a different scene was playing out below decks. Fires burned with growing intensity throughout the engine compartment, and cargo bay while a crack in the drive core's shielding flooded the entire deck with lethal radiation. Without needing to be told every hand had headed for escape pods as soon as the core became compromised. All except one.

Tali'Zorah nar Rayya had immediately sprinted for the access ladders leading to the crew deck above. She nearly lost her hold on the steel rungs as another blast from their unknown aggressor pummeled the ship. Flames burned on every deck filling the dying boat with acrid smoke which the overworked fire suppression system was completely unable to handle. More by luck than skill Tali pushed through the blinding fog to find what she was looking for while silently giving thanks for her sealed environment. Just as she was beginning to wonder if she'd become turned around a familiar silhouette appeared out of the gloom.

"Shepard?"

He deftly seated the seals on his helmet before turning from the console he had just sent a wide band distress call from. "Tali. What's our status?"

Her heart was beating a thousand times a minute, but his calm tone in the face of utter catastrophe was enough to ease her near panic. "The ship is going down!" She shouted grabbing a fire extinguisher from the wall.

"You were supposed to be on a life boat." He stated matter of factly.

"Well Joker's staying with the ship… I'm not leaving either!" She shot back hotly as another violent tremor thundered through the Normandy's hull.

She nearly fell off balance, but Kraven's grip on her wrist kept her upright. He reached over to relieve her of the fire extinguisher. "I'll take care of Joker. You just make sure you get everyone off this ship so the cavalry has more than corpses to collect."

For a moment she considered disobeying, but given how famous his temper was she quickly decided against it. "Will the Alliance get here in time?"

"They'll be here." He responded as though it were an order that they'd better not disobey rather than a statement of fact. "It's time for you to go Tali… Now."

Every fiber of her being told her not to listen. To stay with him to go down with the ship, or at the very least confess the feelings she'd been adamantly trying to deny were growing over the past several months. All she managed instead was a feeble. "Aye aye." Before reluctantly turning on her heel, and bowling through the smoke toward the nearest escape pod.

As he watched her go a pang of worry stabbed at his heart. He knew better than to dwell on such things as he steeled himself for the trek ahead. He debated running back to his now burning quarters to retrieve his favorite weapon, but discarded the thought. He was a close combat specialist who wasn't afraid of anything that called solid ground home. Unfortunately space battles were entirely outside of his element. He was just a helpless passenger when all was said, and done. Even getting angry, which was always his go to for situations outside of his control, would do absolutely nothing to help in his current predicament. Not to mention no one was around to hear his clever idioms. Still he refused to just toddle off to a life pod while one of his crew was still on board. Even if that crew member was a total pain in the ass.

With one last fortifying breath he raised his arm to cover his helmet's face mask from flying debris, and surged off into the inky blackness. He vowed that should it somehow survive he would come back to the system with a search team to locate his sword. Then he would find whoever destroyed his beloved ship, and chop them into fish bait with it. His mood lightened ever so slightly at the prospect, but hit rock bottom once again as Joker's voice crackled over the barely functioning intercom pleading with the Normandy to hold together.

As if to accentuate his discomfort with space in general the door leading to the CIC hissed open releasing all the atmosphere from the crew deck into the darkness. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he gingerly picked his way through the wreck that had once been his Command Center praying his mag boots were up to the task of keeping him grounded. As he passed through the ruin he did the one thing he definitely should not. He looked up through the ragged sun roof the attacking cruiser had so graciously installed for him.

"Oh for crying out loud…" He growled as a wave of vertigo washed over his senses. He stubbornly continued onward with his eyes firmly fixed on the deck plates from that point forward, and promised he was going to get even once he got another ship.

After what felt like years he finally made it to the bridge. "Joker! You still alive?!" He shouted.

"Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is SSV Normandy. We are under heavy attack, and require immediate assistance."

He got his answer. "Come on Joker. It's time to go."

The pilot shook his head. "I'm not leaving the Normandy. I can still save her!"

"The ship is dead! Throwing your life away isn't going to change that!"

For much longer than Shepard would have liked Joker pondered those words. He was worried he would have to forcibly pull the fragile pilot from his chair before Joker finally responded. "Yeah… Ok. Help me up."

Just as a relieved Commander reached down to help his crew member a blinding flash stabbed through the deck several yards behind them. Without further preamble, and wishing not to be vaporized Kraven roughly grabbed Joker to haul him out.

"Gah! Watch the arm!" The pilot loudly protested as they both stumbled toward the last remaining pod attached to the Normandy.

Just as the pair started to duck inside, the diabolical beam from the enemy ship carved through a power conduit sparking a huge detonation. Shepard was thrown back away from the pod's hatch while Joker was thrown deeper inside. Kraven frantically searched for some way to bypass the beam skewering his ship to reach the relative safety of the escape pod while Joker shouted his name.

As the scintillating death ray drew closer to his last remaining means of escape he did the only thing he could think to do. He stabbed out with his fist to punch the manual override built into the bulkhead beside him. With a bittersweet mixture of relief, and hopelessness he watched the hatch close on Joker before the pod jetted out of the disintegrating vessel. Just as it did another explosion tore through the ship sending him spiraling away into the wreckage strewn darkness. His heart broke as he watched the last recognizable pieces of the once proud Alliance frigate detonate in a shower of sparkling debris.

He floated transfixed by the macabre sight until a steady hissing sound at the back of his helmet caught his attention. Panic started to set in as realization dawned. He reached back with both hands in a vain attempt to stem the tide of life-giving air from outgassing into the cold void. His head started to throb and his vision started to tunnel as less and less oxygen reached his brain. The last thing Commander Kraven Matthew Shepard remembered was the searing ache in his lungs being matched by the indescribable pain of his skin burning while he fell through the skies over Alchera.


	2. Chapter 2

**Aftermath212:** Great to have you! In my head I kind of thought the same. Sort of chuckled to myself thinking Garrus was actually the hero of the Citadel, but no one including himself would ever really realize it. Yeah Liara and whichever Human you might have picked always get the limelight, but since this is a Talimance it only seemed fair lol

 **Kenneth Carmer:** Glad at least one of them worked! Likewise, and happy you agree. I've got some fun stuff planned for said reunion ;)

 **The-White-Spiral:** Let's hope I don't disappoint lol

 **BulgarianBarbarian:** Good to see you! This was always my fav of the three so I'll do my best to do it real justice.

 **A/N: Apologies for how long this took to come out. A combination of real life, and admittedly getting the wind taken out of my sails a little by Andromeda have made this take far longer to update then I would have liked. Hopefully the new cover art, and a more Kravenish awakening will make up for my tardiness. Glad to have you all along. Enjoy!**

*UNKNOWN*

Light began to seep into the tiniest sliver that had begun to form in an ocean of black. Eyes that had never been used stung in pain from the minuscule amount of glare that seared into their retinas. Ears that had never been heeded finally conveyed auditory information of the world around them to a brain that could comprehend it. Except even tiny whispers sounded like blaring megaphones. Skin that was still gradually knitting back together burned, and itched uncontrollably. Lungs that had until recently needed mechanical assistance to function began to draw sterile air in through a parched throat.

With each passing moment awareness grew ever closer as an unnatural fog started to lift. A low growling voice off to one side made mention of something. Another, brighter and exotic, voice responded quickly with a sense of urgency. As a small measure of clarity took hold of a previously unused mind, instinct surged to the fore.

Eyes started to open wider despite the agonizing glare to witness medical instruments of every possible function. Ears could hear the repetitive beeping of a myriad of equipment over the frantic arguing of the room's other occupants. Occupant's the ears didn't recognize. Skin could feel the uncomfortable rigidness of an all too familiar style of bed that the healing body rested upon. Yet could not detect the telltale brush of caring finger tips caressing it's surface. Realization of what all of these things together implied started the barely used lungs to heaving in large gasps of air. In sympathy a new body engine started to rev dangerously as it threatened to burst from it's protective rib cage.

Blood began to boil as the body responded to the mind's desperate orders to move, to flee the torture master's operating table. An unfamiliar, albeit not entirely unpleasant looking, face swam into view and gently captured an arm lifting off the table to push it back down. She advised against moving, but the berserker's fire that had begun to burn through the body's brain stubbornly ignored it. Every impulse told it that it was in danger, and needed to escape or die trying.

It's heart thundered in it's chest as the rest of the body started to sluggishly respond to orders demanding it move. The exotic voice barked something to the growling one. The growling one snapped something in return before exotic rushed out of view. Just as the body was rising from the table a fresh shroud started to claw at it's vision. Everything suddenly became unbearably heavy. The mind refused to succumb quietly however.

With titanic effort a fresh inferno of rage blazed through the failing body. Teeth clenched in unconscious defiance as the body struggled against the unimaginable weight holding it down. Growling voice worriedly bleated something before exotic voice irritably snarled something back. In an instant the creeping gloom hovering just on the edge of the body's awareness came flooding forward to forcibly snuff the fire burning in it's brain. Peaceful oblivion once again took hold as consciousness slipped away into the ravenous dark. Just before drifting away it's eyes saw the woman's face again. Her exotic voice had a biting edge as it responded to growling voice's relieved remark. Then the inky black blanket once again cut off all sensation of the outside world.

*UNKNOWN*

Jacob Taylor had never considered himself to be an illogical person. If anything the few people who really knew him would say he was thoughtful to the point of being almost insufferably boring. His last relationship had ended for precisely that reason. Yet the circumstances he found himself embroiled in were anything but logical. At first he'd wondered if he'd stumbled into someone else's dream since usually his involved little more than an out of body view of himself doing crunches on the floor. Yet as the minutes had ticked by with sheer insanity swirling around him, he'd firmly resolved that he was grounded in reality.

It had all started some years ago after he'd become disenfranchised with the Human Alliance. His time serving as a Corsair wouldn't have been considered notable by anyone's standards, but he and his team had distinguished themselves by thwarting an attempted assassination on board the Citadel. For some time after he'd enjoyed the luxuries that come along with being something of a hero. However those secret accolades had been short lived as the press of every day life once again set in.

As the daily grind gradually took it's toll he was also aware of certain issues affecting Council space that could have used a more heavy handed approach from his superiors in the Alliance. Had he been a more personable fellow he might have tried harder to convince the higher ups to take additional action. Especially given the losses the Alliance had suffered in liberating the Citadel from Saren and his army of Geth. Instead he'd quietly stewed about the goings on around him until a ray of brunette sunshine brought a small measure of color to his drab existence.

She'd come as a life line to rescue him from a dull existence as an unappreciated cog in an antiquated machine. She offered him the chance to do something that really mattered for the good of Humanity which all sounded very good. Except to do that he would have to ditch the Alliance and join up with the known terrorist organization, Cerberus. On paper he would have refused outright, but the woman knew just what parts of her anatomy to use in order to force him to think with something besides his brain. He wasn't made of stone after all.

From there his life had become a roller coaster of harrowing missions, and dangerous operations. He'd begun to develop something of a personal relationship with the woman, Miranda Lawson, who had initially recruited him. For a little while things had gone off swimmingly, except she had eventually tired of his unfortunate tendency of being extremely boring. Comparing a conversation with him to talking to a heavily drugged Hanar had been somewhat unnecessary, but he knew they wouldn't have been able to make it through the long haul anyway. Her constant need for perfection was just as grating to him as his mundaneness was to her. Despite their failed romance both had remained close enough as friends, which was why he'd agreed to join her team, code named Project Lazarus. As chaos reigned around him he had begun to question that decision.

Security mechs which had previously served to protect the inhabitants of Lazarus Station had suddenly turned on their masters, and were running amok shooting every living person in sight. Add to that periodic booming tremors reverberating through the station's deck plates from what one crewman had described as a demon from hell before his transmission was abruptly cut short. Jacob had radioed to Miranda immediately after asking for clarification but was interrupted mid syllable by the panicking Science Officer Wilson.

His low growling voice was stained with sheer terror as he shrieked for help over the coms. "Shit he's found me!"

"Wilson! Where are you?" Jacob quickly responded.

"Server room B! Hurry he's out of control!" The frantic man cried.

"Stay right there I'm on my way." Jacob tried to reassure his co-worker but hadn't even finished before Wilson's pleading scream echoed through his com.

"Shepard no wait! *gagrhh*."

The transmission was swallowed by hissing static after Wilson's grisly end which caused a tiny pang of indecision to flutter through Jacob's mind. Project Lazarus' only subject was apparently loose, and ripping the station apart. After hearing all of the stories about the Commander's famous berserker's rage, Jacob needed to seriously consider whether he wanted to get in the way. In the end his sense of duty won out forcing him to head for the location Wilson had given him just moments before to see if he could subdue the Commander.

As he neared the server room Wilson had mentioned his trepidation grew exponentially. Sparking circuitry hung from gaping holes punched into the walls, and ceiling. Doors hung haphazardly on warped tracks after being violently wrenched apart by biotic dark energy. From what it seemed the destruction appeared completely indiscriminate meaning the Commander probably wasn't even thinking clearly. Just tearing everything up around him like a wild animal in a desperate bid to escape.

At last the beleaguered security officer made it to the server room's mangled door, and could clearly see the remains of his counterpart splattered across the floor. As he gingerly worked his way inside he caught the outlines of bare feet stepping through the sea of scarlet that had once been Wilson as they made their way up to stand in front of a bank of monitors. Dead center in the wall of images was one that was pointed at the station's shuttle bay.

"Shit…" Jacob swore under his breath. Both his, and Miranda's boss, the Illusive Man, would skin them alive if the Commander somehow made it off the station, and back to the Alliance.

With as much haste as he could muster he vaulted over the Wilson puddle hoping his knowledge of the station would let him get to the shuttles before Shepard. He also fervently hoped that he wouldn't run into the Commander along the way without any back up. He opened a channel to Miranda again trying to warn her of where Shepard was heading, but received only dead air in response. As he went the sounds of fighting in the corridors around him slowly died down as the station's Human occupants either escaped, or were exterminated by rampaging mechs.

He started to breathe easier as the shuttle bay gangways came into view around the last corner he'd rounded. Especially since this sector appeared largely untouched by the levels of destruction in the rest of the facility. With practiced movements he quietly padded over to the last cluster of shuttle berths where a single craft was still docked. Without thinking he hurried up to the portal separating him from freedom and set in the commands to open the door. His heart jumped into his throat as the muzzle of a weapon instantly whipped up into line with his face.

"M-Miranda?" He stammered as he stared down the barrel.

"Guh… Jacob." She snarled, before lowering her weapon. That was after keeping it pointed at his forehead for an uncomfortable amount of time. "Where have you been?"

He half turned to point a thumb back the way he'd come. "Trying to save Wilson."

She eyed him for a moment. "Where is he?"

Jacob shook his head. "Splattered across the floor in server room B. Guess Shepard found him first."

She nodded seeming almost satisfied. "Got what he deserved then." Even through her thick, and usually charming Australian accent her contempt for the Science Officer was obvious.

Jacob was taken aback. "We've known Wilson for years. Why would you say that?"

She speared him with a look of pure venom. "Because it was Wilson that reprogrammed the mechs to attack my staff." A wave of boiling hatred played across her beautiful features. "And kill Shepard."

"Do you really think he was capable of something like that?"

"Not anymore." She sniffed indignantly.

Before Jacob could respond they heard shouting coming from hallway he'd just come from. "We're almost to the shuttles. Go go go!"

Somewhere further behind the trio of fleeing Cerberus scientists a blood curdling howl echoed off the walls. "GGGYYYAAAAAUUUUGGGHHHH!"

"Holy shit run!" One of them yelled as they frantically tried to outrun the half naked, biotic wreathed, apparition bearing down on them.

Jacob attempted to run to help, but Miranda's hand on his shoulder stopped him cold. They both looked on as the whirling dervish of cobalt blazing insanity thundered into their co-worker's midst. In seconds he'd bashed two of the three into unidentifiable paste before turning on the one that had used the accursed phrase. He'd violently snatched the terrified man by his collar to scream something into his face before rocketing a biotic push into his med section. The hapless man soared across the entirety of the shuttle bay to messily wrap around a guard rail on the far side.

Without even slowing to observe his handiwork Commander Kraven Matthew Shepard whirled to bring Jacob, and Miranda into his sights. The cobalt corona surrounding his body flared as he vaulted down the steps leading from the gangway to the last remaining shuttle. Jacob instinctively raised his weapon to fend off the impending assault but a muffled cough from Miranda's pistol stalled his finger tightening around the trigger. A flurry of perfectly aimed tranq darts spat from her gun to imbed themselves in the onrushing Commander. His muscles jerked from the impacts, but he didn't so much as slow. Round after round of tranquilizers were sent flying to pepper his torso, but seemingly did nothing to stall his advance. He recklessly surged toward them with fist cocked back to smash them into goo, a look of unadulterated malice twisted his broken visage. Angrily glowing cracks burned inside the scars crisscrossing his face, and body in tandem with the unnatural red light blazing within his eyes lending credence to the description of demon.

Just before Jacob's mind overrode his judgement to open fire in the name of self preservation the Commander's legs buckled underneath him. He stumbled to the deck, and slid to stop a scant few feet from the Cerberus operatives. Both let out the breath they had unconsciously been holding as the whipping blue flames around Shepard's body sputtered and died. Both stowed their firearms as Miranda knelt next to the sweat soaked Commander. His eyes, which were obviously struggling to stay open, stared balefully into hers.

A wicked grin barely quirked one corner of her lips. "I think it's time we had a chat Commander."


	3. Chapter 3

**zealot24:** Thanks! Going to be a sad day if it ever does. Daydreaming while I'm listening to music is my favorite thing to do while I'm driving. Actually that's how I came up with that chapter funnily enough.

 **The Wandering Reader:** Glad to have you! I imagined waking up like that would have been a great deal more chaotic then how it's depicted in the game. Especially since Kraven is his own grouchy brand of complete crazy lol

 **Guest:** Thanks very much! :)

 **A/N: Got this one out in a reasonable amount of time for once. Hope everyone gets a kick out of some of the off color humor in this one ;P**

*SKY ABOVE HUMAN COLONY - FREEDOM'S PROGRESS*

'Would it really be so hard to just kill them, and take their ship?' Kraven Shepard thought to himself for the hundredth time as he eyed the two cutthroats seated across from him. Awkward silence hung heavily in the shuttle's cargo compartment as visions of a daring escape played through what he hoped was still his own mind. The venomous brunette called Miranda stared nonchalantly out the virtual window interface to her right while her counterpart, Jacob, did his best not to notice the unnerving stare from the Commander. Truth be told Shepard somewhat relished the discomfort he was causing the pair. It wasn't every day that one could be utterly obliterated in a space battle only to be brought back from the gates of Hades two years later. After a quick look in the mirror at the angry scars lining his face he'd decided he made for a downright menacing zombie.

And yet he was still not even sure that what he was experiencing was actually real. The story he'd been told of his unnatural resurrection had seemed so utterly ridiculous that he would have laughed it off as a fairy tale had it not happened to him personally. So there he was in a den of vipers being told that the Alliance, which he'd gladly devoted his life to serve, had swept his legacy under the rug almost immediately after his death. No doubt at the behest of the waste of space Citadel Council.

'Should've let em burn.' He thought bitterly remembering the choice he'd been forced to make at the eleventh hour battling Saren. 'As if the Geth would have the tech to make a monster like Sovereign on their own. Damn fools.'

He wouldn't have believed his beloved Alliance had turned it's back on him if he hadn't been shown the news reports from his two year nap. Then as if to rub lemon flavored sand in his eyes he learned that entire Human colonies had been going missing while the Alliance sat back and did nothing. As if all of that wasn't bad enough he was forced to hear all of this uplifting news, and owed his current undead status to a known terrorist organization, Cerberus. The same Cerberus that he'd had numerous encounters with during his game of hide and seek with Saren. Finally, the metaphorical piss in his cereal, was that the bumbling idiots of this organization had gotten their shit together during his absence and were now the only people in the galaxy doing anything about the missing colonists.

And so after being tranq'd and shipped to a new station from Lazarus he'd found himself chatting with a holographic representation of the head honcho, the Illusive Man. Their talk was doomed from the start since the Commander had immediately burst out laughing upon hearing the man's chosen moniker. Given how menacing his appearance was from an unnatural glow shining behind his eyes, the Commander assumed he would have picked something a tad more fear inducing.

"You form an entire organization that's got it's grubby fingers in just about every corner of the galaxy and that's what you went with? I guess someone in the PR department dropped the ball huh?" Shepard had quipped sarcastically wiping a tear of mirth from his eye.

Of course all his levity had instantly evaporated upon seeing the state of the galaxy since his death, and learning that his team had been disbanded to become MIA. That last part had been a particularly vicious dagger the Illusive Man seemed happy to twist. The slippery bastard had also seen fit to use them as a small amount of leverage in convincing Shepard to ally himself with the shadowy group.

"You and I both know the Reapers are the real threat Shepard. We know they're still coming. Right now it's Human colonies being hit, but the entire galaxy will burn if we don't stop them."

As much as it galled Kraven to agree, he couldn't deny that the Illusive Man was correct in his assessment. Sovereign had single handedly taken on multiple fleets before being taken down so any number of his buddies coming to join the party would spell bad news for everyone in the Milky Way. Including the people he considered to be his family. And so, despite his better judgement, the Commander had agreed to accompany the bitchy blow up doll, and her partner the living snore to investigate Freedom's Progress which had been the latest colony to be hit.

As their shuttle pitched, and jostled through the upper reaches of the planet's atmosphere Shepard finally broke the uneasy quiet. "So what are we expecting to find down there?"

Miranda didn't turn from her view outside as she answered. "All of the other colonies were completely empty. No damage, no signs of a struggle. Every man, woman, and child was just gone."

"No sensor logs or recordings that could shed some light on what happened?"

Jacob shook his head. "Our techs think there's some kind of VI bug that's released into the colony's networks to wipe all data during each attack. We've searched almost a dozen colonies, but haven't found a single clue."

Shepard's brows furrowed. "So what makes this one any different?"

Jacob scratched the stubble on his jaw. "We normally don't get this much of a heads up. According to our people this one was hit only a few hours ago."

"Think we'll find anything alive in this one?"

The disgraced Corsair let out a frustrated sigh. "Anything would be better than another ghost town."

"Well you say that now…" Kraven muttered as the shuttle lurched through a pocket of colder air. He had to work to keep his eyes from affixing themselves to Miranda's seductively bobbing cat suit. "So… Call me crazy, but just in case we run into hostiles down there wouldn't it be a good idea to assume they're more interested in shooting than buying us drinks?"

Miranda's eyes visibly rolled as she finally graced the Commander with an irritated scowl. "Meaning?"

"Nothing… I just figured armor would have been a better wardrobe selection for a combat zone. You know, keep your business covered and protected instead of bouncing in the breeze?"

Jacob nervously checked the action on his gun as Miranda casually crossed her legs and speared the Commander with a look of pure ice. "Does my business distract you?"

"Hard not to notice." He openly admitted. "It's no skin off my back if you take one to the tits, and go belly up. But I'd rather not chance our mission because your vanity told you spandex was the way to go."

"I know my duty, and limitations Commander. Keep your mind on the mission and the reason we brought you back." Her words practically dripped with disdain.

He shrugged off her menacing tone and sat back into his uncomfortable seat deciding to let the argument go. Leave it to a terrorist to put her own appearance above the safety of her team. "If you say so."

The last leg of their descent was passed in silence until the shuttle roughly touched down on the outskirts of the colony. Cold air carrying tiny white snowflakes swirled in as their transport's doors cycled open. Dancing flurries of crystallized water fluttered down from overcast nighttime skies to quietly blanket the blocky prefab structures of the colony in a thin layer of white. Once the shuttle's engines wound down an eery, muffled silence settled over their almost surreal surroundings.

"Not looking good so far." Shepard murmured releasing his rifle from the catch at his armor's back.

With a small wave he signaled his "team" to follow him forward toward the nearest cluster of buildings. The only sound that could be heard was the steady crunch of their footsteps grinding snow into the ground. As they neared the first structure Kraven mischievously whispered back to his squad mates.

"Bet you're regretting not wearing armor now. Those things could probably cut glass." He chuckled at his own attempts to needle his "captors" despite having to admit he was only hitting the low hanging fruit. 'Low hanging fruit. Ha. Classic.' He thought to himself.

Jacob seemed completely at a loss for what the Commander meant, while Miranda's face turned a deep shade of red. Had Shepard been looking he would have seen her struggling to keep the muzzle of her SMG from swinging into line with the back of his head. Fortunately for him her professionalism, and the fact that she'd spent two years of her life working tirelessly to resurrect him won out over her anger.

As he reached out to cycle the door open in front of him a noise behind them caused him to whip around with the muzzle of his rifle leading the way. Both Jacob, and Miranda spread out to either side as the sound of whirring actuators, and creaking metal joints pierced the still night air.

"Hostiles detected." A monotone synthetic voice declared as the outline of a Human shaped security mech shuffled into view.

The gun it carried spat bursts of slugs at the Humans as several more mechs walked up to join the first. Shepard and his team ducked behind whatever cover they could find around the prefab, and returned fire although Shepard kept staring at his gun in annoyed confusion.

"What the bloody hell is the matter? Why aren't you shooting back?" Miranda snarled over at him as she deftly sent a stream of bullets into the nearest mech.

"My gun's broken!" He shouted. "Here listen." He pulled the trigger sending a full auto burst of slugs downrange. "See?"

Neither Miranda nor Jacob turned their attention from the mechs to address the Commander's concern as the gunfight continued. He peppered the synthetic security detail with what he feared was a sabotaged weapon although the fact that his squad's weapons also sounded wimpy helped to allay some of his misgivings. The results on impact were what he expected from a normal Avenger automatic rifle. Maybe even a little better than he remembered. However compared to the throaty roar he was used to this firearm sounded more like a dinky pea shooter. He was also perplexed that it seemed to overheat incredibly fast.

Despite this their little skirmish with the colony's security force lasted less than a minute. As the last of the mechs sent to destroy them crumpled to the ground in a sparking heap Shepard stood to present his weapon to his team with contempt.

"Here." He said trying to hand it to Jacob.

"There's nothing wrong with it Commander."

Shepard shook his head. "I beg to differ. I've put enough rounds through an Avenger to know when it's not working right."

Miranda huffed in irritation. "Shepard, while you were gone the Council passed legislation banning all firearms that don't have an internal suppressor built in."

"Bull feces. You're a terrorist group. Why would you abide by Council laws?" He countered crossing his arms.

She popped her thermal clip, and inserted a fresh one. "Because the weapons outfitted with the suppressors also perform better in almost every way."

He shook his head. "Again I have to disagree. This piece of garbage was overheating like a hippo in a sauna."

"It's because these fire at a much higher velocity than the old ones. The mass effect field generators inside generate almost twice as much heat." Jacob interjected.

Shepard eyed his weapon dubiously but still needed some convincing. "… Does that mean better armor penetration?"

Jacob nodded. "Spot on Commander. They don't sound like much, but they've got it where it counts."

After an uncomfortable amount of time Kraven finally popped his gun's glowing thermal clip. "I guess it'll have to do."

"Glad to hear it." Miranda sneered following him back toward the cluster of buildings they had sought to enter before the cop bots showed up.

The Commander bit back a sharp retort to her sarcasm as he cycled open the door leading into what looked like a small housing unit. His eyes swept around the room in tandem with the muzzle of his gun. He was struck by how uneventful the scene looked. Food and drink remained on plates and in cups without even a drop or morsel spilled on the table. No signs of a struggle anywhere or anything that could be used as a clue to determine where the occupants had gone. It was as if they had simply got up in the middle of dinner, and walked out.

"They all look like this?" Shepard asked although he already knew the answer.

"Every one. Like nothing happened at all. Just thousands of people vanishing into thin air." Jacob reaffirmed.

"Keep your eyes peeled th…" He started to say as he keyed open another door, but cut off his order as his brain registered seeing a cluster of hooded Humanoid silhouettes hunched on the far side of the prefab. His gun swung into line as several of the interlopers who he now recognized to be Quarian reacted to the sudden intrusion.

"Stop right there!" One of the men shouted pointing a badly worn Avenger rifle of his own at the trio of Humans.

Just before Shepard could lower his weapon, and tell his team to do the same he stopped cold. "Prazza you said you'd let me handle this." His heart leapt up to do somersaults in his throat as recognition of the speaker's voice lit off a cascade of fireworks that rained unadulterated joy down on his frayed psyche.

His hands and arms went slack as he watched what he could only describe as a shining ray of sunshine in an inescapable nightmare interpose herself between the two parties. His eyes unabashedly drank in every detail of the Quarian woman standing before him. The old dingy suit he'd been afraid would fall apart if a Geth looked at her wrong was gone. In it's place was an intricately woven violet hood with golden clasps, and pristine black ballistic material which hugged her statuesque figure perfectly. Even down to the subtle curves of her elegantly sweeping legs.

It was here that his gaze paused with his mouth agape as the question he'd thought of upon their very first meeting aboard the Citadel played through his mind. 'How does she stand on legs like that?'

As he stood there gawking like an idiot Tali'Zorah finally turned to regard the Human intruders and nearly feinted on the spot. "Wait… Sh-Shepard?" She asked hesitantly as her vision started to tunnel.

Her quavering voice was enough to snap him out of his stupor. "Tali?"

He stood frozen to the spot for several seconds before instinct took over to move him forward. He stowed his weapon and spread his arms wide to wrap her up in a heartfelt embrace. At least that was his unconscious mind's plan until her three fingered fist came sailing through the air to bust him right in the chops. He staggered back slightly in utter shock as blood started to gush from the split in his lip.

"You good for nothing piece of Vorcha barshten!" She took a step forward to shove his shoulder while he was still reeling from the blow to his face. "You selfish bosh'tet! Where the hell have you been? I- We thought you died! And now you just show up years later without so much as a message saying you were alright?" She shook with barely contained fury.

His vision started to clear as his Cerberus handlers stepped up to bring their weapons to bear on the aggressive Quarians, but he raised his hand to stop them. He reflexively touched an armored finger to his busted lip before drawing it away to examine the scarlet liquid covering it's metallic surface. Had anyone else pulled such a brazen stunt he would have ripped their head off and spit down their neck. Yet all he could think about was the gut wrenching pain coloring her voice, and the tears he could just barely see trickling from her faintly glowing eyes.

"Tali I-I did. I only just woke up a few days ago I… I'm sorry." He tried to explain.

She took another step forward making it seem like she was going to take another swing at him. He didn't make any move to avoid it. "How do I know you're even the real Shepard? I mean look at you!" She almost yelled through sobbing gasps.

That hurt more than another fist to the money maker would have as he unconsciously winced at the reference to his appearance. She seemed to deflate somewhat after seeing his reaction and shrank back to hug her arms around her middle.

"I… I don't know if I'm real or not… Everything's been so bat shit crazy since I woke up I'm still not convinced this isn't all just a really bad dream. But if it helps…" He lowered his voice to barely a whisper hoping no one else would hear him. "Do you remember on our way to Ilos? I was in the med bay and you came to visit. You thought I was sleeping so you sang to me."

Her eyes snapped to his in an instant as she lunged forward to punch him again. Although this time with a good deal less strength. "You mean you were awake that whole time?" She hissed at him as his hand once again raised to touch his swelling face.

Before it made it all the way there he was surprised once again by her reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck, and draw him into a warm hug. After several seconds spent processing what was happening he enfolded her in a heartfelt embrace of his own.

"…I missed you." She whispered in his ear. "Don't you ever do that to me again."

He closed his eyes, and rested his cheek against the supple fabric of her hood. "Yes ma'am."

Though secretly they both would have loved nothing more than to stay there like that for a good deal longer, both moved to disentangle themselves fearing the overt display of affection made the other uncomfortable. As they stepped back from one another a range of different emotions played across the gathering of people around them. Jacob looked bored, Miranda looked annoyed, and the Quarians would have looked utterly confused if anyone could have seen their faces.

"What are you doing here?" Tali finally asked with a still slightly trembling voice.

"Investigating Human colonies disappearing."

She motioned to his squad with her chin. "And who are they?"

"Cerberus." He said as if spitting out something that tasted bad. "They're the ones responsible for bringing me back."

Her eyes narrowed as she stared daggers at Miranda and Jacob while the Quarian named Prazza came up beside her. "This is your old Commander? Why is he working with Cerberus?"

"Good question." She responded bringing her attention back to Kraven.

"Not really by choice. I need to find out what's happening to these Human colonies and put a stop to it. I don't know how, but I'm worried the Reapers might have something to do with it." He explained. "What brings all of you here? I can't imagine a bunch of missing Humans is something the Fleet would be concerned with."

"We're here looking for a Quarian, Veetor, that came here on his Pilgrimmage." Tali said before leaning in close. "Shepard, do you really trust Cerberus? You know what they're capable of."

He leaned in close himself despite the disapproving looks he got from his team. "Not in the least. If this whole thing didn't stink of Reaper shenanigans I would have told them to go to hell. As it is though I need to get to the bottom of this and they're the only ones that look ready to help."

"As long as you're sure." She grudgingly agreed and straightened. "We'll split up and try to find Veetor. He may have some idea what happened to the colonists here."

Shepard nodded. "Good idea. Stay in radio contact and holler if you find anything."

"Will do and be careful. He programmed the security mechs here to attack on sight." She warned.

"Likewise. Keep yourself safe."

With one last look at one another the two led their respective groups to pursue their mutual goal. Although their focus was now squarely set on each other rather than the task at hand.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Invisible Pretender:** Thank you! ME:2 is my fav specifically because of the loyalty missions. It was so much fun getting to delve deeper into all the characters so for me it's going to be even more fun doing the same with my own little twists of flavor!

 **zealot24:** Yeah there was so much that I loved about ME that changed with ME:2. The ammo system adds a new little wrinkle for sure, but I won't lie the changes in sound was what threw me the most lol. I've played all of the single player DLC for all three games. Citadel on ME:3 was by far my favorite!

 **darkerego:** Looking forward to providing it ;)

 **Never Morrison:** Happy to hear it's leaving an impression! What drew me to the games initially was the development of the characters, and tongue in cheek humor that punctuated the seriousness of the Reapers. If I can recreate even a tenth of that feeling I'll be a happy man! Glad to have you along.

 **BulgarianBarbarian:** Thank you! I know I tend to upload a bit slow, but still chugging away. If a few things fall into place for me here I'll have some more free time to devote to it. Believe it or not the relationship I'm building between those two is inspired by the relationship I have with my wife. Without the domestic abuse of course ;P

*HUMAN COLONY - FREEDOM'S PROGRESS*

'This has got to be a dream.' Tali thought to herself fully expecting to wake up aboard the Neema any moment. She could feel the clammy moisture in her gloves and prickling along her back which seemed to discredit the notion that this was all just some petty trick of the mind. Yet at the same time the situation was far too outlandish to ever be real. He was gone. Gone for over two years in fact. Not just gone, but dead. So dead that almost no traces of him had been found after extensive searching by multiple Council, and Alliance expeditions. Yet she'd seen him, spoken to him, as if coming face to face with a ghost from the beyond. He'd known everything the real Shepard would know. His mannerisms were the same, his body language and inflection. For all intents and purposes he was the genuine article brought back to life. However that notion was sorely at odds with her own understanding of the universe, and how mortality worked. Memory of the last two years flickered back to the fore of her mind to replay like a depressing slideshow as she advanced through the Human Colony of Freedom's Progress with her team looking for one of their own people.

Commander Kraven Matthew Shepard, first Human Spectre, and the hero of the Citadel had died in the sky over Alchera over two years ago. The Normandy had been blasted to dust by some unknown enemy leaving her surviving crew drifting in space to wait for Alliance vessels to heed their distress beacons. Upon returning to Council Space the squad Shepard had brought together had disbanded almost immediately. There had been a rather spartan memorial service for him that had hardly done him justice before the heroic exploits of he and his team were quietly brushed under the rug by both the Council, and Human Alliance.

Before she could even begin to process the grief weighing on her heart over losing the man she had considered to be her closest friend, as well as saying goodbye to the rest of her shipmates, she was shipped back to the fleet aboard an aging cargo freighter. Prior to leaving she had experienced an extremely bittersweet parting with her team which only served to highlight how different she'd become since embarking on her pilgrimage.

Instead of being excited to return to her own people carrying one of the most valuable pilgrimage gifts she could have possibly acquired, she was apprehensive and nervous. Those feelings were only compounded as the small group said goodbye to one another at Chora's Den. The place where they'd all started their journey together.

"Take good care of yourself Tali." Garrus had said. Although his words had been warm, the strain in his subharmonics and the haunted look in his eyes told of something festering within. Herself not included, he'd seemed to be the one hardest hit by the Commander's passing, and although he did a relatively good job of keeping his emotions hidden, anyone that really knew him could see he was suffering inside.

Regardless of what festered underneath he'd placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and graced her with a rare Turian smile. Then he'd nodded to the others and headed off to board a ship bound for the unknown. Not long after Liara had awkwardly said her farewells to the group before excusing herself without mention of where she was going. Then it was Kaidan and Ashley's turn. Unsurprisingly the pair decided to leave together as both had been ordered to return to active duty in the Alliance. Tali, and Wrex had given each other knowing looks as the two walked away knowing that wasn't the only reason they were leaving together.

"Think they'll wait to hold hands until they're sure we can't see them?" He guffawed before throwing back a glass of glowing blue liquid.

She wanted to share in his mirth, but just couldn't bring herself to even grin. She knew Wrex felt the same loss as the rest of them, but coped with it in a completely different way. After a long time of not saying a word to one another she finally decided it was finally time to go her own way.

"Goodbye Wrex. It's been great working with…" She started to say as she stood to leave.

He set his glass down as he hauled his substantial bulk up out of his seat and waved away whatever she was going to say. "None of that crap. You just keep yourself safe out there kiddo."

To her surprise he took her by the shoulder as gently as an eight hundred pound Krogan could, and pulled her into a bear hug. "Y-You too." She stammered before the shock wore off and she returned the hug. Albeit only about a quarter of a hug since her arms couldn't even reach half the distance needed to meet on the other side. "I'm going to miss you."

"Ha. Always were a softy. Chin up girl." He laughed before finally releasing her and holding her at arms length. "You'll do just fine."

She started to smile as a single tear pooled at the corner of her eye to delicately trail down her cheek. "Stay out of trouble you big Bosh'Tet."

"No promises." He chuckled as he pushed past her to lumber out of the club.

She had stood frozen to the spot irrationally hoping all of them would come noisily piling back in as if it was all some elaborate ruse, but the sickeningly sweet scenario never materialized. After what felt like an eternity she finally convinced herself that it was all really happening, and she'd better get a move on before her passage back to the fleet left without her.

The journey back to her own people had been spent in anguish as she replayed every aspect of the attack that had destroyed her home over the past year. Self doubts, and what ifs plagued her every waking hour as she desperately tried to work out how she could have possibly saved the Normandy, and it's Captain. Yet despite her best efforts no earth shattering epiphany presented itself that would vindicate her crippling self incrimination. Even as she stepped aboard the ship where she'd been born, and lived the entirety of her childhood, all she could think of was how there must have been something she could have done.

That was until she found herself standing before her father. All other thoughts scattered from her mind like frightened birds taking flight as she mechanically presented the OSD containing the sensitive Geth data Shepard had collected for her. Overwhelming anxiety had squeezed her heart till it almost burst as she'd watched her father, Admiral Rael'Zorah, pull up the OSD of her find on a data pad to browse through it's contents. She could almost hear the detached analysis he was about to give, and advice on how best to present it to one of the lesser ship Captains in the fleet.

His actual reaction had utterly caught her off guard. After only minutes plumbing the depths of the OSD's data troves he'd excitedly congratulated her on uncovering such a monumental find. He'd even come to within inches of actually hugging her for several moments before turning back to his bench to retrieve the data pad. After that he'd whisked her out so he could make the preparations for the ceremony of presenting her gift to her new Captain.

Days later after a whirlwind tour through several of the most prestigious ships in the flotilla she found herself clad in a brand new enviro suit that her Father had had shipped to the fleet from a manufacturer on Illium. She'd stood in the atrium of the Neema to present her gift to it's Captain as her father proudly looked on. He'd even seemed like he genuinely missed her which was completely out of character for him. Everything she could have ever wanted as a child was unfolding before her eyes, and yet despite all of her youthful dreams coming true she felt nothing but hollow emptiness.

The things that used to give her life purpose somehow lacked the value they once held. She was ecstatic that he father had been so happy to have her back on the Flotilla, but even that wasn't enough to assuage the yawning pit that had settled in her heart. For two years she'd quietly wrestled with the spirit sapping void never daring to confide in anyone else about it. Especially not Rael lest the shocking shift in his demeanor toward her revert back to the cold indifference she'd endured growing up. The only thing that provided her with any relief was the numerous science, and recon expeditions she'd been assigned to carry out for the Admiralty.

It was a far cry from jetting around the galaxy on the trail of a dangerous rogue Spectre, but it gave her a respite from the suddenly uncomfortable closeness of the fleet. She even started to form superficial friendships with the men, and women assigned to be her escorts. Nothing she would call particularly deep, but enough to ease the cold loneliness on the darkest nights planet side. She'd even started to settle into a sort of rhythm as the days ticked by. She wasn't saving the galaxy from monsters that sought to destroy it, but she was doing good work that benefitted her people. It was enough that at some point she could see herself finally letting go of the past to move on toward her future.

That was until she'd seen the scarred, irritating, sympathetic, cocky, beautiful face of the deceased Commander Shepard. In an instant all of the miserable memories, crippling depression, and endless soul searching came crashing down on her like a ton of bricks. She'd wanted to jump on him and cry her eyes out with euphoric joy while simultaneously squeezing the life out of him for putting her through what he did. In the end she'd settled on the gut instinct of busting him in the chops that almost seemed to take control of her body before the action even registered in her brain. Then after seeing the pained expression he wore she was nearly overcome with the desire to apologize and gently caress the swelling her fist had caused.

As her team deftly weaved their way between Human prefabs she had to keep herself from screaming in irritation at her own helpless confusion. She'd never experienced feelings that were so contradictory, and so had no way to know how best to handle them. Even as security mechs appeared to hinder their progress, and bullets started to fly she was still trying to work out exactly what she was feeling. Fortunately countless hours of practice in combat situations took over for her while her brain was busy sorting through the parade of lunacy wreaking havoc on her psyche.

At least until the Ymir anti-infantry mech stomped into view, and opened up on her team. Streams of slugs from it's twin mass accelerator cannons, and clusters of rockets poured forth like a savage tidal wave as Quarians scattered in all directions.

"Keelah! The hell is a fringe colony doing with a monster like that?" Prazza shouted over the roar of unrelenting firepower. "Veetor's got to be close! We'll draw it's fire Tali, you go on ahead and try to get him to shut it down!"

It didn't feel right to abandon her team to fight without her, but she recognized the possibility that none of them would be walking away if she stayed. "Keep your heads down! I'll find him as soon as I can!" She called as she backtracked through an alley to skirt around the massive automated colossus.

As she did a thought occurred to her. She opened a channel to Shepard, and his team while trying to ignore the sounds of combat dwindling behind her. "Shepard?"

It took a few moments but his soothing voice drifted back. "Go ahead Tali."

"There's a YMIR mech here! My people are keeping it occupied, but I don't know how long they can hold out while I'm trying to find Veetor!" She frantically called back.

"Say no more. Send me their coordinates, and we'll lend a hand."

'No hesitation whatsoever. He's definitely my Shepard.' She thought to herself as she sent her team's position to his omni-tool. The fact that she possessively thought of him as hers was not lost on her. "Sent. Keep yourself safe."

"You mean don't die again?" He quipped.

She shook her head even though he couldn't see her. " Too soon Shepard." She ducked underneath a set of stairs to escape detection by a pair of LOKI mechs as they shuffled past.

"Fair enough. The sooner you get your man to flip the switch the better. YMIRs are no joke."

She stealthily slipped out from under her makeshift cover to continue her search of the area. "You don't know the half of it. They upgraded them with better shields, and most carry rockets now."

The line was silent for almost thirty seconds. "Well… Shit. Glad you told me, but I almost wish you hadn't."

"Just keep yourself safe." She forcefully reiterated.

She could almost hear his cocky smile on the other end. "Yes ma'am."

Biotic detonations, and multiple explosions ripping through the night air loudly announced the Commander's arrival into the fray several moments later as Tali desperately scurried from one prefab to another in search of her elusive quarry. At last as she nearly doubled over from constant running the colony's admin center came into view. She said a silent prayer of protection for Shepard, and her people as she broke into a sprint toward the building. Just as her foot touched the ground in her third stride frantic screams broke over the radio. A split second later they were drowned out by a titanic boom that rocked the ground so hard she went tumbling to the dirt. Her heart sank as every fiber of her body told her to run back toward the mushroom cloud swirling into the cold night sky.

"Sh-Shepard?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello again everyone, and apologies for how long this chapter took to come out. My job had sucked up virtually all my available free time, but I'm happy to say that's no longer the case Word of advice. If you work for a small start up, and your boss suffers from a deplorable excess of unfounded ego and is running said start up into the ground don't call him on his bullshit. Just quietly do your job until the paychecks stop coming. However that being said despite losing that job, it opened the door to something dare I say a thousand times better which still affords me time for my hobbies like this story. Anyway enough about my life story. I'm happy to be back, and hope you all enjoy the continuation of Revenants: Vol II**

 **The Invisible Pretender:** Yeah I kind of thought given that she's Quarian, and they have to literally share EVERYTHING with one another to survive it would make sense that she would be a bit more possessive with her romantic interest lol

*HUMAN COLONY - FREEDOM'S PROGRESS*

"Fan out, and find cover!" Shepard barked to his companions as they burst into what remained of a courtyard the YMIR mech was in the process of defending. He was keenly aware of the danger this adversary posed and while is eyes didn't waver from the enemy at hand, his was anywhere but.

His mind was still having a hard time wrapping itself around his predicament of being returned to the land of the living by a terrorist organization. Not to mention agreeing to a tenuous alliance with said organization in order to save colonists that were presumably being abducted by the Reapers. All this information had been dumped on him mere days after coming to in an unfamiliar medical facility, and finding out that he had been nothing but "meat and tubes" for the better part of two years. Then to make matters worse he had been informed that his crew had scattered to the four corners of the galaxy with no means of locating them. Adding to that loss and confusion was his efforts to figure out the new body his jailers had grown for him with the various upgrades they'd deemed necessary to install.

It had taken some time being back in a combat scenario again to really drive it home, but he was definitely starting to notice how much sharper his senses had become, and how much faster he was moving with less effort. His quickened reflexes and stronger muscles meant he had to completely relearn how to use his own body, and regain the old rhythm he'd been operating in for the bulk of his professional career. Constantly tripping over his own feet coupled with the gradually growing ache behind his eyes told him the massive influx of new sensory information was beginning to overwhelm his already racing grey matter.

Than as if to compound on his already overtaxed brain, a chance reunion with one of his most beloved crew mates now dominated his thinking space. Even discounting his considerable attachment to the friendly faces of his team, whom he thought of as his "family", this one in particular occupied an incredibly valuable place in his heart. One that he still didn't exactly know how to quantify, and yet would be utterly lost without. Even just hearing the initial disbelief, and hurt in her voice had nearly broken his new ticker. That tone still echoed through his beleaguered psyche even after the pain it represented seemed to have been replaced by a euphoric embrace he would have given anything to prolong.

He was a hot mess of swirling emotions, barely controlled limbs, and utter confusion. Fortunately for him the mechs his Cerberus team had encountered thus far hadn't posed much of a threat, but YMIRs were something else entirely. In his N7 days he'd had to endure tactics, and battlefield awareness exams that centered around less lethal variants of the walking tanks. He wasn't keen on squaring off against them then, and he sure as hell wasn't looking forward to dancing with one now. Especially given his current state of mind. He knew all of his uncertainty, and revelation without being provided proper time to process it all was a recipe for disaster, but also knew he didn't really have a choice except to soldier on and seek clarity later.

That feeling only swelled as his new eyes swiftly assimilated every detail of the unfolding scene in front of him. Several Quarian already lay in bloody heaps scattered across the snowy terrain as a mechanical behemoth thundered after those that still lived. Rockets jetted from it's launch tubes to blast into the fleeing humanoids, sending them flying in all directions while torrents of bullets ground through what little cover still remained to shield them. One brave woman attempted to fire feebly into the monster's "face" to draw it's attention while her brethren escaped, but did little more than stall it's advance. As she turned to flee herself she slipped on the icy concrete, and tumbled to the ground. With murderous efficiency the mech planted one massive metallic foot on her back, crushing it completely in the process, and sent a quick stream of slugs into her hood.

In that instant some switch was flipped inside Kraven. He wasn't sure if it was some byproduct of the cybernetics in his neurological system, or a holdover of only just waking from being dead, but whatever it was caused his eyes to see something. Instead of witnessing the massacre of an unknown Quarian girl, his brain told him he was watching the grisly demise of his Tali'Zorah. The unfortunate woman's cry of agony, followed by the pulpy smack of bullets shredding soft tissue before embedding in cement was enough to set his blood ablaze.

He heard Miranda shout something to himself and Jacob as she crouched behind a wall of shipping crates, but he didn't comprehend what she said. His vision went red and started to tunnel as blood pounded in his ears to drown out all other sound. His fingers released the grip of his rifle before balling into tightly clenched, armored fists. His teeth clenched so hard they almost started to crack as an azure inferno blazed around his trembling frame. As the YMIR's sensors detected the sudden spike of energy, and it turned to assess the new threat he suicidally launched himself toward it.

The robotic titan started to take a step back to brace for the incoming impact, but was still rocked backward by the man sized mass effect field crashing into it at nearly the speed of sound. It planted it's heavy treads on the slick, blood stained tarmac and hunkered down to keep from being bowled over. It's arms came up seeking a targeting solution on it's relatively puny assailant.

With zero conscious thought, and combat training completely cast to the wind Shepard recklessly threw himself at the giant in front of him. His lashed out in blind fury trying to pummel his enemy to dust with only his biotically charged fists. Even a sledgehammer swing from the mech's massive right arm connecting with his shoulder wasn't enough to shake the blood lust haze clouding his mind. In fact the pain only served to intensify it. The force of the blow was enough to completely dissipate the Commander's barriers and sent him spiraling into a stack of loading equipment, yet his wrath raged unabated despite the damage his armor, and the flesh underneath had sustained.

Bullets started to pepper the twist of steel he wrenched himself from before he once again launched himself at his foe. Rockets sailed past only inches to either side as dark energy propelled him onward into contact with the living engine of destruction. However this time his trajectory was higher causing him to impact the YMIR's upper chest plate. As it staggered back from the force of his biotic charge he reached out to snag it's upper arm.

At first he planted his feet on it's chest to rip the arm off, and beat it's owner to death with it, but was swung away before he could make good on the thought. As his eyes locked with the mech's view screen a new goal became the priority. He wanted it's head. With a single minded berserker's focus, he ripped and tore at the reeling construct as it tried to shake him off or crush him with another hammer blow. Somehow he managed to find enough purchase to claw his way up to stand on the YMIR's shoulders, and hooked his fingers under the protective cowling surrounding it's "skull".

He screamed with inarticulate rage while his tortured body heaved against the resistance that kept the machine's head in place. Just as the muscle fibers in his legs, back, and arms started to tear apart the head came loose. He nearly toppled over with the sudden lack of resistance, but miraculously maintained his footing as his prize went spinning off into the darkness. He looked down into the sparking cavity he'd created as arcs of electricity started to writhe and snake onto his legs and the ground. Before his rage soaked brain could comprehend what was happening a mass effect field enveloped him before roughly yanking from his perch to toss him clear of the dying machine and it's drive core that was rapidly going critical. He tumbled, and rolled end over end before skidding head first into one of the vertical supports under a prefab's front porch. In an instant his scarlet stained world went dark.

After some time he finally started to come around to the sounds of someone calling his name. "Shepard? Hey Shepard you still with us?"

As he slowly opened his eyes he recognized the almost amused looking face looking back at him. "J-Jacob? Guh what happened?"

The Cerberus operative extended a hand to help him up. "You don't remember?"

Kraven started to reach for the offered help, but his hand immediately went to his throbbing temple as a dagger of pain seared through his skull. "Ngggh. No."

Jacob reached out farther to grasp the Commander by his elbow, and extricate him from under the prefab's deck. "Well Commander let's just say I've heard stories about how crazy, and borderline unstable you could be but… damn." He looked back toward the lazily rising plume roiling into the ash choked night sky. "If Miranda hadn't pulled you off that thing before it blew there wouldn't have been enough of you left to fit in a coffee cup, and I doubt she's up for rebuilding you a second time."

"I'll keep that in mind." Shepard scoffed trying in vain to recall the last several minutes between the time his team entered the courtyard, and he woke up under a porch. 'I can remember the days when the only time I ever blacked out was a night drinking with the crew' He thought glumly. As he did a lithe feminine figure came stalking out of the snowy gloom.

'The crew… Tali…' His heart sank as a wave of inescapable loss tugged at his soul. His body suddenly felt incredibly heavy as he slumped against the man holding him up. Despair gripped him as the image of her being crushed, and gunned down by the out of control YMIR played through his mind.

As the woman neared he noticed she was a Quarian. "Glad to see some of you are…" He started to say trying to inject false levity into his voice before a long finger stabbed at his face.

"You!" She practically shouted. "I told you to be careful! I told you to take care of yourself! Look at you!" She gestured at his ruined armor and bleeding scalp.

"I-I'm sorry ma'am I… I don't… Wait… Tali?" Recognition finally dawned before being replaced with utter disbelief and joy. With renewed vitality he pushed away from Jacob to enfold a very confused, and startled Tali in a bear hug. "I watched… I watched you die. Over there you… You were dead."

Without knowing what else to do she wrapped her arms around him. "I didn't. I'm right here see? I'm fine." As she held him close trying to understand what was happening her gaze alighted on the Cerberus agent awkwardly standing nearby. He couldn't see it, but her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits as she imagined what the terrorists had done to her Commander to cause him to become this unhinged. "Can you give us a minute please?" She asked trying to keep the icy venom from her voice.

"Um. Yeah sure." Jacob agreed. Gladly excusing himself from the bizarre, and uncomfortable interaction.

Once he was far enough away Tali pushed the Commander back enough to cup his wrecked face in her hands. She was taken aback to see a single tear glittering on his cheek, and asked herself if that was on her account. "Keelah Shepard what is going on with you?"

"I- I don't know." He admitted. "I was convinced… I watched that thing kill you. Everything is all just a blur after that." He shook his head lightly to clear, but quickly stopped as a fresh wave of pain was the only result. "I'm just so confused. Turned around. I barely know who I am… Where I am… I can vaguely remember the attack on the Normandy and… Dying. But it just feels like it was all a nightmare… I can't figure out if this is all just a dream. I mean two years? Is everyone really gone?"

Her chest ached to hear her normally unwavering Commander's uncertainty, and vulnerability. She gently brushed the tiny bead of moisture from his face, and stared directly into his crimson tinged eyes. "As much as I wish I could tell you it was all a dream I can't. You did die. You have been gone for two years. And yes our team was disbanded." She could feel his shoulders slump, and his arms relax even while maintaining her grip on his face. "But. I missed you, and words can't describe how happy I am to see you alive after all this time."

That seemed to breathe a small amount life back into his tired frame as he gave her a squeeze. "Can you come with me?"

Her breath caught in her chest as her initial reaction was to blurt out a yes. Especially after seeing the jackals he was now in company with. However her duty to her people couldn't be so easily cast aside. "I-I would like nothing more, but I'm on a mission for my own people. One I can't ignore."

She expected him to react gloomily to her rejection, but was pleasantly surprised by his answer. Especially because his tone betrayed his disappointment. "I understand. I'm stuck with Cerberus for the same reason."

She snaked a slender finger under his chin to lift his gaze and look into his eyes again. "But I'll come join you as soon as my mission is done."

"I'm going to hold you to that." He stated firmly.

"Please do." She replied sweetly as they stood staring at each other until realization dawned that she was holding, and flirting with her old Commander.

He must have come to the same realization as his eyes started to widen before they both moved to disentangle themselves from one another. He awkwardly cleared his throat as he stepped away keeping his gaze away from hers. "So… *ahem* any luck finding your man?"

She wrung her fingers nervously trying to ignore the warmth his face had left in the palms of her gloves. "Um yes. We found him in one of the buildings in front of a bank of monitors. He's running a mild fever, but we should be able to stabilize him."

Kraven Shepard gestured back the way they'd come. "Then time's a wasting, and I hear it waits for no man."

She shook her head at his comforting use of a baffling idiom as she pushed past him. "It's good to have you back Shepard."


	6. Chapter 6

**a/n: It's been quite a while since an update on this story. Apologies for the delay as I've been working on another story as well. Truth be told I've been suffering from a fair bit of writer's block on this one so continuing forward with it has been difficult, but I'm hoping to start gaining a bit of momentum with it. Enjoy**

*OMEGA ASTEROID MINING STATION*

Commander Kraven Matthew Shepard took in a lungful of putrid air through his nose, and nearly vomited his lunch onto the grime spattered street. He swore inwardly and resolved to breathing through his mouth lest he contract some devastating pathogen from the odious atmosphere. With single minded determination he pushed himself to weave further into the dingy back alleys of the mining station in his search for a particularly notorious vigilante known as Archangel. All around him the dregs of galactic society bustled about their daily business. It wasn't all that different from any other city in the galaxy except for one important distinction. Most of the station's denizens were criminals. One had to be especially careful when walking the streets of Omega.

The commotion of the city swallowed up the Commander in a relentless assault that battered against every one of his senses as he made his way onward. High energy dance mixes from nearby clubs thumped against his eardrums in tandem with the overall din of the city. The vile combination of unprocessed excrement mixed with piles of refuse and the unmistakable stench of rotting bodies wafted through the air to create a suffocating miasma. Long neglected lighting strips flickered, and sputtered in a desperate bid to maintain their laughable pools of illumination.

Overall it was safe to say that the Commander thoroughly despised Omega, and everything it represented. That distaste was only deepened as he stepped into something spongey. "Shit!" He cursed as he pulled his gore splattered boot from what possibly could have been the half decayed torso of a Vorcha.

He gritted his teeth in irritation and wondered for the hundredth time just what sort of person he was expecting to find, and if he really wanted them on his team if this pit was where they called home. He shook his foot to get as much of the putrescent muck off as he could before angrily continuing his trek further into the district. As he did he couldn't help letting his thoughts wander.

He'd sent his Cerberus jailers to pick up the Salarian professor called Mordin Solus to give himself some alone time to gather his thoughts. Miranda had been adamantly opposed to his command of course, but since the Illusive Man had given him operational control he'd easily brushed aside her objections. He was already too invested in wanting to stop the Collectors after seeing Freedom's Progress so trying to escape back to the Alliance wasn't really in the cards whether she believed him or not. Still that hadn't stopped her from vehemently insisting that he was not fully recovered and would likely need some kind of backup if things went pear shaped.

To her chagrin he'd ordered herself, and Jacob to get the Salarian nerd while he saw to extracting the vigilante. Upon finally finding himself alone with his own thoughts he'd actually somewhat regretted his decision to strike out by his lonesome. There were certain mental issues he wasn't very enthusiastic to confront.

Naturally his first thoughts tended to drift toward Tali, and his absence from her for over two years. She had obviously changed a great deal since her time on the original Normandy, although he couldn't say the same for himself. Gone was the timid Quarian girl who seemed to constantly walk on egg shells around everyone lest she cause offense with her mere presence. That shy girl had been replaced by a seemingly strong, and self assured woman who bore the mantle of her own command quite admirably. He'd been pleasantly surprised by their chance meeting, and yet what should have been a joyous reunion seemed somehow tainted by both being pulled in opposite directions by their respective duties. Not to mention his uncharacteristic hallucination of her grisly death. He'd never experienced anything like it before except for maybe when he'd been wielding the sword he'd found on Feros. Even remembering the horrors of Akuze failed to cause him to lose his grip on reality.

This train of thought invariably led him to one he'd been actively trying to avoid since waking up in the Cerberus facility where Project Lazarus had been executed. Was he the real Commander Shepard, and if so was he in some way altered to better facilitate the goals of Cerberus. Admittedly he did feel "off", but didn't have any way to tell if that was due to his unnatural resurrection or to some new piece of hardware crammed into his skull to keep him compliant. This sizable unknown meant that his normally black and white perspective of the universe was now significantly clouded by multiple shades of grey. His heart was filled with doubt, and uncertainty where clarity of purpose and confidence should have been. Somehow, in a way he didn't fully understand, he felt like he was missing a piece of himself. Yet, deep down, his instincts told him that this was the hand he was dealt and his continued survival hinged on his ability to move forward. There was no way to reclaim what he'd lost, but he could still fight to carve a new niche for himself in this new life.

After a fortifying breath, which almost caused him to double over and gag, he re-centered himself on the task at hand. With renewed focus he pressed on through Omega's dingy back alleys toward where his target was reported to be. The distant echoes of gunfire, and explosions served to validate the info he'd received from his Cerberus handlers. He quickened his pace without breaking into a full run lest he attract unwanted attention. With every step the sounds of fighting grew louder as the whir of a gunship's engines shrieked overhead.

'A gunship?… This guy must be one tough son of a bitch. I like him already.' Shepard thought to himself.

As he wove through side streets he was careful not to head directly for the battle using the main thoroughfares, preferring instead to approach from the shadows to remain inconspicuous for as long as possible. Shouts, mech servos whining, and the whip crack of gunshots became clearer as he rounded a corner and came upon the struggle unfolding. From what he could see from his limited field of view there were dozens of freelancers charging across an open bridge with uniformed mercs providing supporting fire from safely behind barricades. Opposite was a severely damaged apartment building with several muzzle flares flickering in response from the second floor.

Freelancers were being cut down in droves by the well aimed barrage of gunfire directed at them, but were steadily gaining ground despite their losses. One managed to heft a grenade launcher into position to loose an explosive charge into the second floor window before taking a bullet straight through his forehead. Even as his lifeless body slumped to the pocked concrete walkway the grenade sailed into the building ahead, and detonated with a reverberating *whump*. All guns in the second floor apartment fell silent at once giving the remaining freelancers their chance to make it off the bridge, and into the enemy's lair.

"Shit." Shepard growled to himself as his chances of extracting Archangel alive just dropped through the floor. Somewhat to his relief a couple guns opened up again trying to hold back the tide of freelancers swarming into the apartment, but it was too little too late. With the option of stealthy infiltration no longer viable, the Commander primed his amps, and bolted from the relative safety of the alley he'd been observing from. He bounded forward haphazardly spraying bullets at the barricade to keep the merc's heads down before channeling dark energy into a shell around himself that catapulted him into the back of the closest freelancer.

It took the unfortunate man's companions a handful of seconds to figure out was happening before they could turn to deal with the new threat in their midst. More than enough time for Kraven to wreak considerable havoc. His right fist flashed with biotic fire as he lashed out with practiced strikes sending hapless freelancers flying, while his left came up to fire round after round into vulnerable joints or helmet-less heads. Once his pistol's slide locked open in overheat he threw the useless weapon away to continue his relentless hand-to-hand assault. Bullets started to ping, and skip off his barriers as he waded into the dwindling number of fighters that had turned to finally repel him.

A young man in nothing more than civilian garb, and a dorky looking hat screamed something unintelligible as he fired his SMG as fast as it would cycle. A smattering of projectiles battered the Commander's precipitously declining barriers while a much larger portion of their number flew wide. Without hesitation Shepard closed the distance on the terrified looking youth, and sent his right knee rocketing into the young man's abdomen. Blood fountained from the teen's mouth as he was lifted nearly 3 feet straight upward from the force of the blow before crumpling to the ground in a heap.

The Commander unceremoniously stepped over the twitching body priming a biotic shockwave in each hand. The last two freelancers left standing, perhaps recognizing their peril, turned in unison to seek cover but hadn't even begun to move before a dark energy fueled pressure wave impacted them from behind. They were dead even before hitting the far wall as the sudden pressure spike tore through soft tissue, and messily started hemorrhages in their internal organs and brains.

Without stopping to survey his grisly handiwork the Commander vaulted up the stairs at the back of the apartment to make his way up to the second floor. In the back of his mind he was acutely aware that his amps seemed a good deal cooler than they normally would have been given his recent exertion. Even as he raised his hand to knock on the closed door in front of him it occurred to him that he was also barely out of breath. While convenient given his current situation those realizations, and what they could possibly represent, chilled him to his core.

Pushing those dark thoughts aside he hammered his armored fist against the cold steel of the door, and shouted at the occupants inside. "Archangel! You still alive in there?"

"Who wants to know?" A muffled voice called back from the other side.

"My name is Commander Shepard."

Silence followed by the characteristic boom of a heavy rifle boomed. "Shepard's dead. Has been for a long time." A different, almost familiar, voice answered.

"You're not wrong. I got lucky… With a lot of strings attached." He waited for several moments, heard another booming report echo from inside the room, then reached back to unclip his shotgun and drop it clattering to the floor. "Look I probably wouldn't trust me either, but like it or not I'm out here, and I might be the only chance any of you have of making it off this rock. I'm unarmed which is more than what you'll get with the mercs. So would you rather deal with them, or me?" Quiet was his only answer for almost 30 seconds which caused his temper to begin to fray. "You don't have a lot of time, and I'm starting to forget my manners. What's it going to be?"

With a whir, and a click the lock on the door cycled off to allow the portal to open. He took in the scene before him in an instant as he stepped into the smoke choked interior. To his right a disheveled looking Salarian was desperately tending to a bleeding Batarian who sat slumped against the back of a smoldering couch. A few lifeless bodies littered the floor in various stages of disassembly while a fully armored Turian stood poised at the window with his eye set to a rifle scope.

Kraven looked between the three, soon to be two, remaining combatants. "Archangel?"

The Salarian didn't look up from what he was doing, but pointed a finger back toward the Turian at the window. For a moment Archangel didn't move before a round thundered from his rifle's muzzle to tear through a hapless Vorcha's throat downrange. With no other targets immediately apparent the marksman stiffly stood from his sniper's perch, and turned to face his uninvited guest.

As he did he reached up to remove his helmet, and toss it onto a half collapsed armchair. Recognition immediately flickered across the Commander's brain. "Garrus?"

His friend's steely stare met with his own. "What's left of him."

Kraven stepped forward to take the Turian's hand, and pull him into a back slapping hug. "Shit Garrus, you're the last person I expected to see today! What the hell are you doing here?"

Garrus' mandibles twitched in the Turian approximation of a subdued grin. "Oh you know… Just a little target practice… Keeping my skills sharp."

Shepard instantly noticed the strained tension in his friend's subharmonics, and the haunted look in his eyes. "What happened?"

The Salarian straightened from the body of his Batarian comrade and answered for Garrus. "We were betrayed by one of our own team members."

Shepard looked to his friend, and received a hopeless nod in response. He placed a consolatory hand on the Turian's shoulder. Garrus nodded in appreciation of the Human gesture as he turned back to stare across the bridge below. "It's been rough… Isn't much we can do about it now though." He slowly craned his neck to look at Kraven from the corner of his eye. "Not that I'm not grateful to see a friendly face, but… how are you even here? I watched the Normandy go down with you on board two years ago."

Shepard took a deep breath, and let out a long sigh. "You're right. As far as I know that's where I bought the farm. From what I understand a certain organization found my leftovers, and pieced me back together. I only just woke up a little while ago."

Garrus' eyebrow perked up at the baffling use of idioms to describe a terrifying death. "A certain organization?" His subharmonics seemed to have gained a small measure of levity.

"If you can call them that. You remember the jackasses we put down that kept trying experiments with Thorian Creepers and Rachni?"

Garrus turned to regard his old Commander without hiding the shock on his face. "You don't mean to tell me Cerberus are the ones that brought you back."

The Salarian grunted in disapproval, and let his hand drop dangerously close to his sidearm. Noticing the movement Shepard raised his hands, but kept his voice even. "The very same. Trust me I feel the same way you do. They're about as trustworthy as a hungry snake with two heads, but regardless they're the ones that did it."

Garrus folded his arms as his eyes narrowed. "So… What brings you here?"

Shepard stared back without missing a beat. "The short and sweet is that Human colonies are being abducted in the Terminus. I'm looking to find out by who, and why. To do that I need a team of the best. That's why I'm here. To get you out so you can join my mission."

"And we're just supposed to trust a Human terrorist organization?" The Salarian spat.

The Commander shook his head. "Who said anything about trusting them? I saw firsthand what's happening on Freedom's Progress. They gave me the means to try, and stop it so that's what I'm going to do. If they want anything more than that from me then they can kiss my undead ass." The Commander looked back at his former teammate.

Garrus stood motionless for nearly a full minute before finally relaxing, and reaching out to clap his best friend on the shoulder. "Alright, you convinced me you're the real Shepard. Welcome back old friend."

Kraven allowed himself the barest hint of a smile. "Good to be back. Out of curiosity though. What would you have done if I hadn't?"

"You'd have ended up like one of those poor fools on the bridge. Speaking of which if you have a plan for getting us out of here we'd better get started. It looks like they're getting ready for the final push."

Shepard nodded in agreement. "I saw a gunship not too long ago. I assume it was meant for you so the sooner we blow this joint the better."

The Salarian tentatively stepped up beside the Human, and Turian. His mistrust still evident on his amphibian features. "The Blue Suns, Blood Pack, and Eclipse are all waiting for us. I'm not sure how you plan to sneak past them."

Shepard regarded the lithe alien. "Well…"

"Korick."

"Well Korick. I'm not exactly the guy you want if you're looking to make a quiet getaway."

Garrus stifled a chuckle. "That's an understatement. What was it you called yourself? A one trick phony?"

"Pony." Shepard corrected.

"Right. Well if I know you you'll want to go charging headfirst, guns blazing, and see how far you can make it."

The Commander nodded as he turned to walk back and retrieve his shotgun. "Sounds about right."

Garrus let the first genuine smile he'd had in days spread across his avian features. "Well I just so happen to have a certain something that might improve our chances of actually making it out of here in one piece." The sound of Eclipse mechs awkwardly vaulting over the barricades across the bridge drifted up through the broken apartment windows.

Shepard wracked the slide of his weapon to chamber a cartridge. "Oh yeah? And what might that be?"

Garrus motioned for him to follow toward the rear of the apartment as rounds from the mech's guns started to pepper their position once again. The trio quickly headed back to the furthest bedroom which had been converted into a sort of weapons stockpile before Garrus strode over to pick up a long package wrapped in black plastic leaning against the wall.

The Commander's heart rate started to quicken as he imagined what might be inside. With precise movements Garrus grabbed a small combat knife from a slot in his armor, and flicked the blade through the tape holding the wrapping around it's contents.

Shepard's eyes widened with excitement as he caught a glimpse of what lay shrouded within.

"What are we supposed to do with that?" Korick griped seeing the useless, ancient implement as the last of the plastic fell away.

Garrus reverently took it by it's hilt, blade down, and presented it to his friend. "We? We only have to enjoy the show."


	7. Chapter 7

**Leytradvorstrelundar:** Glad to hear it ;)

 **Kenneth Carmer:** It's one of my favorite aspects of the game as well. I used to purely play as a Paragon, but at some point the allure of creating a Shepard that skates that knife edge of hero/anti-hero called too loudly. Now every time I play I end up making the bad ass I see in my imagination lol

 **murasakibar8:** Apologies for leaving you hanging so long! I sincerely hope that this chapter is the payoff I want it to be :D

 **Olav152:** With an insatiable vengeance!

 **ivandundalov7:** Thank you. Good to be back 3

 **Guest:** It's a doozie! Let's hope it hits the right notes that I want it to.

 **Never Morrison:** For a little while I was, but my imagination wouldn't let me just let it go. ;)

 **darkerego:** Thank you! Happy to oblige.

 **A/N: Just a quick little note. Sorry for the time between uploads. Always seem to be busy, plus since it's been so long I wanted to give a little extra oomph to this one. There's a couple clues sprinkled throughout for you all to get a deeper look at what exactly it is the Commander holds in his hand! Enjoy everyone!**

*OMEGA ASTEROID MINING STATION*

Fires burned unimpeded through numerous corridors and side streets. Terrified screams, shouted orders, and the discharge of multiple firearms split the oppressively thick atmosphere. Everywhere chaos reigned as combatants and bystanders alike scattered in every direction trying to escape the ongoing carnage. Literally cutting through the bedlam was a metaphorical maniac wielding a weapon of unimaginable power. That maniac being the one man capable of extracting Garrus Vakarian from the slums of Omega alive.

"Get your ass moving Korick!" The armored Turian shouted back to his Salarian squad mate.

"I *puff* I'm going as fast as *wheeze* I can." The Salarian responded through panting breaths. "Where *puff* is he getting all this?"

Garrus' gaze snapped back to the sword swinging psycho further ahead. "Honestly I'm not entirely sure. He was always a little nuts once he got his hands on that thing, but… this is a little much." He motioned them onward with his rifle at the ready. "Better hurry to catch up before the net closes behind him and we get cut off."

The Salarian nodded mutely as he steeled himself to keep up the grueling pace.

Truth be told while Garrus was incredibly grateful to whatever deity brought his friend back at the moment he needed him most, he was more than a little concerned with the circumstances they were currently in. Naturally he was completely mistrustful of the shadow organization called Cerberus given their past encounters, but whatever they'd done to his friend was on a whole other level. The red eyes coupled with angrily glowing scars splitting the Commander's face was disconcerting to say the least, but now the untold strength and stamina he was demonstrating was almost unbelievable.

Upon leaving the apartment Shepard had promptly taken the lead as was his usual position. Without warning he'd ignited his biotics which the sword hungrily absorbed and vaulted out the shattered second story window to land smack in the middle of a group of mechs. With a single lateral swing he'd wiped nearly a dozen of the machines from existence as the sword's powerful disruption field blasted them to nothing. Within a heartbeat Shepard had rocketed off to plow into the next line of advancing tin cans. By the time both Garrus and Korick had made it down to ground level and outside the bridge was empty save for the few parts of mechs that hadn't been entirely vaporized. Chief among them was the right arm rocket tubes of a YMIR class mech.

In the distance the Turian and Salarian could see the crazed Human hopping the barricade to wreak havoc on the mercenaries still sheltering behind it. Crackling energy accompanied by pulpy thumps denoted the passing of each unfortunate merc that came into contact with the infernal blade's edge. The unnerving cackle the Commander uttered could also subtly be heard through the sounds of gunfire and shrieks of horror. Once Garrus and Korick made it to the remains of the barricade they climbed over to witness Shepard standing alone in a growing pool of his enemy's blood. His normally cobalt biotics had begun to take on a purplish tinge marking the point where he would be approaching his limits. Not long after his overtasked body would put him in a temporary coma. He was also never lucid upon reaching this point.

"What kept you?" He asked with a wild eyed grin.

Garrus was momentarily taken aback by the question. "We… we stopped for coffee. How's uh… how's it going?"

If the Commander caught the slightly worried edge in his friend's subharmonics he didn't show any sign. "Happy as a clam! Just what I needed to get my head on straight."

"Well I'm sure there's going to be plenty more where that came from. You think you'll be able to handle it?" Garrus asked, still apprehensive of Shepard's condition. The roar of a gunship's thrusters whirring closer served to punctuate his words.

"Haven't even broke a sweat! Just like the good ol' days eh?"

Korick looked incredulously between the two with shock evident on his face. "What kind of outrageous shit could you have possibly done that even remotely compares to this?"

"Tell ya once we're done. Looks like the home team's brought in the second string!" Without further explanation the Commander flashed a genuine, albeit crazy-looking, smile before leaping over the barricade once again to meet the gunship hovering just outside.

Barely a minute later the flying death machine had come crashing down with several sizable chunks missing from it's structure. A bleeding Kraven came down a millisecond later although the aid of his biotics made his landing a good deal softer than the gunship's. Said biotic field was now closer to red than purple. Yet it still appeared that Shepard retained some portion of his faculties as he nodded to the two dumbstruck aliens before motioning them to follow as he sprinted off toward the way he'd come. They'd been trying to keep up with him ever since.

That was until stopping dead in their tracks at the entrance to Omega, the station's premier nightclub and metaphorical throne to it's pirate queen matriarch, Aria T'Loak. That very same Asari who now stood on the steps of her stronghold, arms crossed, flanked to either side by the hired muscle she didn't even need. Directly across from her, standing defiant in the middle of the street, caked with drying blood and wreathed in a sanguine aura of blazing biotic energy was Commander Shepard.

The Asari speared the Commander with an icy stare that could have frozen molten steel, but kept her sultry tone even despite the malice in her eyes. "I assume you have a good reason for wrecking half my station and assaulting my people?"

To his credit, Kraven met the most dangerous woman in the galaxy's gaze with steel of his own. Although if he were in his right mind and not holding what could be the most dangerous personal weapon in the galaxy his attitude might have been a little more humble. "I'm on a mission. They got in the way." He stated flatly.

Her face remained completely passive as she gestured with one hand. "And what would that mission be exactly?"

Shepard planted the tip of his blade in the deck beside him, but the inferno swirling around him and the unnatural blaze in his eyes didn't slacken. "Don't worry about it."  
Anyone else might have missed it, but Garrus' practiced eye noticed the almost imperceptible flash of anger that flickered across the pirate queen's features. He nudged Korick with his elbow before nodding toward the street that would take them toward one of the station's docking bays. "This is about to get nasty. Time to see ourselves out." He whispered.

Korick nodded his agreement although he didn't seem capable of tearing his eyes from the scene unfolding before them.

"Want me to teach him some manners?" A mountain of a Krogan to Aria's right asked expectantly as Garrus and Korick started to shuffle toward their escape route.

"Like to see you try." Kraven growled before Aria could respond.

Her eyes narrowed menacingly, but her voice remained completely even. "You're playing a very dangerous game, and I'm beginning to lose my patience. I suggest you tell me what you're doing here and how you plan to do to make this right." Cobalt fire started to dimly flicker around her slender frame. Her gaze shifted to Garrus for a fraction of a second before returning to the madman in front of her.

Shepard took an angry step forward. "None of your damn business. You want some? Come get it bitch!"

Garrus' heart dropped. "Shit..." He groaned. There was only ever one rule on Omega. Don't fuck with Aria. Shepard just took that rule, balled it up, and flushed it straight down the toilet with a deuce as a chaser.

Apparently the Human's misplaced bravado was somewhat amusing to the Asari as her lips quirked into the barest hint of a grin before she casually signaled her men to dispose of the interloper. With eager anticipation plainly clear on every single thug's face, the noose started to advance and close around the lone man who stood stock still staring daggers at the woman in front of him. As the circle tightened around him, the massive Krogan from before reached out to jab the muzzle of his shotgun into the Commander's armored ribs.

The sneer on the huge alien's grizzled face quickly shifted to stupefied horror as a lightning fast sweep of glittering steel flashed up to impact his left hip. In a split second nearly three quarters of his body ceased to exist as the diabolical sword's disruption field disintegrated the bonds holding his atoms together. As his dismembered upper half cartwheeled away his cohorts hadn't even begun to understand what had just happened.

Their momentary inaction would prove to be a costly mistake as Kraven vaulted into the nearest edge of the circle swinging his blade as he went. In the blink of an eye a Batarian, and two Vorcha were turned into glittering blood mist as the rest of the hapless underlings finally started to react. Weapons started to fire regardless of whether friend or foe was in danger of being hit as Kraven ducked and weaved to bring himself into striking distance of his panicked opposition.

It was all over in a matter of seconds as a slick of blood mixed with various unidentifiable carnage gradually grew to paint an ever larger portion of the street. Shepard once again stood alone amidst the sanguine death but wouldn't be waiting long for company. Garrus tried to shout a warning, but had barely sucked the wind into his lungs before a streak of cobalt destruction pounded into the living chaos before her.

She was fast. Almost too fast for Garrus to even follow. In the span of a single heartbeat she rained a dozen biotic fueled punches down on the hapless chaos who could only give ground as he was pummeled relentlessly. He attempted to create distance so as to bring his blade into play, but destruction kept up her merciless close-range assault to keep chaos squarely on the defense. Garrus raised his rifle to try and intervene but after a few tense breaths lowered it again. The two were moving so quickly, and so hopelessly intertwined in hand to hand combat it would have been completely impossible to hit one and not the other.

He gritted his teeth in frustration at his own powerlessness until more of destruction's minions started to arrive on the scene. Garrus once again raised his weapon until he noticed that none of the newcomers seemed keen on entering the fray. Instead they appeared to be far more interested in betting on who would be the winner of the seemingly one-sided brawl. This realization gave the irritated Turian a splendid idea.

With unrivaled bravado, and a shocked expression from his Salarian counterpart, he carefully skirted the ongoing battle between chaos and destruction to where the knot of destruction's people gathered. A rather loud Human was shouting to be heard over the cheers of his cohorts and the rapid fire *crack-booms* of biotics going off.

"No one wants to take the bet? Come on 10 to 1 odds! Anyone?"

"I'll take it. 10,000 credits say the Human wins." Garrus bellowed over the din.

All eyes snapped to the misguided Turian followed shortly by raucous laughter. The bookie didn't miss a beat. "Good man. Let's see your green, and best of luck my impoverished friend." He chuckled with a sneer.

Garrus ponied up every last credit he had to his name, and turned to watch just as chaos took a vicious left hook to the side of his head. The crowd cheered as the Human staggered backwards and almost ended up on the deck. The blade of his sword sank into the deck to keep him upright as he leaned on the handle like a crutch. With blood weeping into his left eye he glared up into the neutral expression of destruction as she stood waiting for him. It appeared that she was only toying with him by that point, and already knew that the contest was won. She was simply stretching her muscles with a bit of exercise.

And that confidence would end up costing her. As the crowd looked on in smug satisfaction that they would all be going home a few credits richer the crimson aura surrounding chaos began to darken. The unholy fire burning in his eyes, and behind the scars crossing his flesh, started to gain intensity as he straightened to his full height. The blood streaming down his face started to bead, and pull away from his skin, but instead of dropping to the ground it hung suspended. He bared his teeth in a savage snarl as the biotic fire enveloping his frame darkened to light-devouring black.

"What the hell are you?" Destruction wondered aloud as a look of revulsion crossed her beautiful features.

She'd barely uttered the disdainful words before chaos' jaw dropped and the deafening roar of a million voices thundered from his mouth. Everyone within a dozen blocks grabbed their heads in pain from the ear shattering sound. Even destruction couldn't help but be bowed by the terrifying noise as her hands instinctively rose to cover her ears. She doubled over in pain for a fraction of a second before regaining control and rising to finish chaos off. Except she couldn't see him anymore.

It took less than a micro-second for her to assimilate the situation, but even that was barely enough time. She threw herself backward with all her might as a blade wreathed in obsidian flame sailed through the space she had narrowly vacated. Garrus could only look on in disbelieving horror as he tried to understand what was happening.

He had seen chaos' aura shift to a black so deep it was actually difficult to look at. He had seen the man open his mouth to utter the deafening noise. But he hadn't seen him move. Almost by some magic he had simply ceased to be in one location, and miraculously appeared in another. Which just happened to be directly beside destruction who, to her credit, somehow avoided what would have been a death blow for anyone else.

But chaos wasn't done. When his sword strike missed he allowed his momentum to carry his left foot up to impact destruction's spine as she fell. She appeared to turn with the blow to lessen the damage, but still took the brunt of the hit to her ribs. She nimbly rolled with the force exerted on her torso to let it carry her away from her opponent, but as she lightly landed on a hand and one knee chaos was already waiting for her with sword raised.

Sensing his presence, destruction dove to the side to avoid the overhand chop that would have turned her into a stain on the ground. As she did she primed a biotic detonation in her left palm to send it rocketing into chaos' demonic looking face. Except instead of exploding to tear him apart like she expected it to, it hit the broad side of the upraised sword and imploded.

In less than a heartbeat the explosion that was destruction's hallmark was compressed to the size of a marble by whatever forces lay within the accursed weapon. She didn't even have time to blink before the destructive power she herself had created, and which was subsequently empowered by a blade from hell itself, released the stored energy in a titanic detonation directed squarely at her.

Even as she tumbled through the air she threw up her arms to protect her face, and channel every ounce of biotic power she had into her barriers. It wasn't quite enough. The massive pressure wave rumbled through her body tearing soft organ and muscle tissue to ribbons as it went. She finally let out an agonized scream as she was thrown almost 60 feet further down the street from the force of the blast. She gritted her teeth against the pain as she tumbled across the ground until hitting something with her right shoulder that finally stopped her.

She laid there on her back for a few seconds with her eyes closed before finally opening them to see what had stopped her momentum. The blood that wasn't pouring from her nose, and ears turned to ice as she gazed up into the baleful eyes of an ebony shrouded demon. With sword raised he let loose another terrifying roar that sounded for all the world like a multitude of voices all shrieking in unison as he bared his teeth, and brought his weapon down into her chest.

Destruction screwed her eyes shut as she waited for the blinding light of eternity that would never come. For several seconds she lay expecting the end to come at any moment before finally opening her eyes again. The unearthly light emanating from chaos' eyes had winked out along with the black flames that had wreathed his form for the past harrowing minute. Her gaze traveled down to where the tip of the cursed sword hung motionless an inch above her breast.

Garrus stood amidst her men in utter disbelief at what he'd witnessed as no one seemed capable of moving. After Aria finally started to extricate herself out from underneath the lethal instrument he managed to regain his composure.

"Shepard!" He called out without receiving an answer from the Commander who hand't moved a single muscle.

"Boss! Are you ok?" Several of the gathering yelled as they rushed over to help their severely injured queen stand.

She brusquely waved them away even as she clutched her broken ribs. "What the ever loving hell was that?" She asked Garrus as he moved to brush past her.

In all honesty he didn't actually know. Kraven had gone off the deep end plenty of times before, but something about this was entirely different. He'd never seen the Commander move so fast; not even when he fought Sovereign's avatar. To the point where it almost seemed like Kraven ceased to be the man Garrus knew and became something altogether more sinister. And dangerous.

"You made him mad." He finally answered with a shrug.

The expression on Aria's face plainly betrayed her dissatisfaction although she chose not to pursue it further. "Whatever it was I want it gone. Get the fuck off my station."

Garrus nodded. "Don't have to tell me twice." He glanced over to the bookie who stood dumbfounded a few yards away. "Right after I settle up with your man there."

"You have 10 minutes." Aria responded with pure venom before gracefully walking back to her club to lick her wounds amidst an entourage of fawning thugs.

Garrus watched her go for a moment before turning back to his friend who still hadn't moved an inch. "Damn Shepard you better not be dead." He grunted as he raised his omni tool. "I'll take my winnings my poor impoverished friend."

The bookie made no reply as he continued to stare at the Human who had managed to best Aria.

"Unless of course you'd like the second round once he wakes up?" Garrus prodded.

The Human shook his vehemently as he snapped out of his stupor, and frantically transferred the credits to Garrus' omni-tool before turning tail to practically run back into Omega with the rest.

"Pleasure doing business with you." The Turian called over his shoulder. As he neared his friend he caught sight of a knot of people hurrying toward him from the docking bays. A voluptuous brunette led the pack in a white cat-suit that looked about 3 sizes too small.

"Bloody hell." She growled with an alluring accent as they neared, and pointed to the inert form of the Commander. "There he is. Grab him, and let's go."

Garrus instinctively stepped up to bar their way. "Something I can help you with?" He said making a point to wrack the slide of his rifle.

The woman looked somewhat annoyed by the gesture, but he'd be damned if he let some pack of strangers anywhere near his friend. "Archangel?" She asked pointedly.

He was momentarily taken aback at her use of the monicker. "Depends. Who are you, and what do you want?"

She stepped up in front of him, but didn't offer her hand. "Miranda Lawson. I'm Commander Shepard's second in command on the Normandy." She put a hand on her hip. "And the person responsible for bringing him back to life."

Garrus remained unmoved. "So you're the one who turned him into..." He glanced back at his motionless friend. "That?"

She craned her neck to look at the Shepard statue. "In a manner of speaking. I can explain once we're under way."

"And if I decide I don't trust you?"

She huffed in irritation. "We don't have time for this." She raised two fingers to her ear. "Joker. Care to join the conversation?"

The name sparked an instant reaction in the Turian's mind, but he kept it from showing on his face. At least until the surly pilot's voice crackled over the com.

"Sure. What can I do for you sweet cheeks?"

She ground her teeth. "I told you if you didn't stop calling me that..."

"You'd pull my teeth out through my ass with a singularity. Get in line." He chuckled.

She looked ready to absolutely light into him until Garrus finally relaxed, and stowed his weapon. "Alright. I'm convinced."

"At last." Miranda grumbled as she severed the feed to the Normandy to cut off any further snark from it's pilot. "What happened?" She asked waving her team forward.

Garrus stepped aside as a Salarian he recognized as a doctor from the slums scuttled past followed by a dark skinned Human man. Korick came up to them a moment later. "I honestly don't know. I've seen what he can do when he gets ahold of that thing plenty of times before. This was something different."

Miranda crossed her arms over her ample bosom. "Different how?"

Garrus shook his head as he recalled the logic-bending encounter. "When he goes too far he starts to go a little nuts, but he still moves like normal. Just a lot faster, and with a much bigger punch. This though... It's like he wasn't even Human anymore, and the black biotics and that spirits awful noise…"

Miranda studied his expression carefully as he spoke before looking off into space as she contemplated his words.

"What did you do to him?" Garrus asked with a hint of challenge in his voice.

She shook her head, but didn't look at him. "We regrew his body and added a network of cybernetics to enhance his natural ability. Our instructions were to make him as close to himself as we possibly could. Which we did. Whatever happened here certainly wasn't a result of anything I did..."

Both of them turned to look at the man who had finally crumpled to the ground in a heap and thankfully could be seen breathing. "No... That definitely wasn't because of me." She reiterated in a cryptic tone.


End file.
